A sociologist looks at American power sources

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/

This is an interesting and enlightening site, which relates to our main topics of discussion lately.

Pay special attention to the section, "Power in America," for financial statistics closely related to our current political/financial situation.

I'm just beginning to study the site. Will add pertinent quatations. Hope others will read and do the same.

Ann

A very interesting site, Ann, Thanks!

Does this sound familiar?

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/class_domination.html

Quote :

The Weaknesses of the Working Class



There are many democratic countries where the working class --
defined as all those white-collar and blue-collar workers who earn a
salary or a wage -- has more power than it does in the United States.
This power is achieved primarily through labor unions and political
parties. It is reflected in more egalitarian wealth and income
distributions, a more equitable tax structure, better public health
services, subsidized housing, and higher old-age and unemployment
benefits.

Ann

The conservative, republican agenda: tax breaks for wealthy & corporate giants; small government; no government regulation; no unions; no public schools; no welfare services; no emergency disaster assistance; religious issues; etc.

Not exactly democratic ideals, are they, DK. There was a time, and not so long ago, when the Republican Party was not so open in their disdain of "the common person."

Ann

I was a republican for most of my life. I saw it as the party of fiscal responsibility, small government and support for business and economic development. I don't remember all the fanaticism, bigotry and hatred. It just seemed to grow as time passed. Then the FOX channels became a hate litany.

It takes a long time for people to become aware. It has to be a personal thing like the social security check not coming on time for most people to see that they are affected by what politicians do.

I wonder if that is not the jolt needed for people to get off their butts and say something, realize that they do need to have their voices heard. Vote.

We have been lazy and lax.

The people of this country ought to police the people we sent to represent us. No one has been paying attention. I am guilty.

Love,
Betty

dkchristi wrote:

I was a republican for most of my life. I saw it as the party of fiscal responsibility, small government and support for business and economic development. I don't remember all the fanaticism, bigotry and hatred. It just seemed to grow as time passed. Then the FOX channels became a hate litany.

That is the way it was for Dave and me also.

Betty Fasig wrote:

It takes a long time for people to become aware. It has to be a personal thing like the social security check not coming on time for most people to see that they are affected by what politicians do.

I wonder if that is not the jolt needed for people to get off their butts and say something, realize that they do need to have their voices heard. Vote.

We have been lazy and lax.

The people of this country ought to police the people we sent to represent us. No one has been paying attention. I am guilty.

Love,
Betty

I think we all have been, Betty. This wake-up call may prove to be a good thing.

Ann

I think I mentioned it in another thread - I heard President Obama say (this is a summary as I remember the statement) he didn't expect much from a Congress that has proved it can't get anything done.

Well, if it can't get anything done then it should be fired! That means we are paying salaries, perks, staffs and benefits for nothing.

alice wrote:

dkchristi wrote:

I was a republican for most of my life. I saw it as the party of fiscal responsibility, small government and support for business and economic development. I don't remember all the fanaticism, bigotry and hatred. It just seemed to grow as time passed. Then the FOX channels became a hate litany.

That is the way it was for Dave and me also.

And me. Texas politics being what they were at the time, I voted in the Democratic primary, for the conservative candidate, which was where our local officials were elected, but voted Republican on election day. I did not vote in a Republican primary until '72, when my husband was running for County Chairman. We had become avid George Herbert supporters during his senate campaign two years before. Like you guys, I believed that we had to be fiscally responsible. But my admiration for the senior Bush declined during his presidency, and I voted for Clinton in '92, and have been a Democrat ever since.

Ann

Ann,

You woke up far ahead of me. I voted for GWB twice!
Prresident Obama is the only Democrat I have voted for, for President.
Sen Jackson D got my vote--he was a legend.

Do you think that part of the problem may be related to how Americans view America?
Many hear and repeat slogans such as, “We’re the greatest”. We want to believe that whatever our country does is right. We reject criticism even when we know that what we’re doing is wrong. Is it arrogance that won’t allow us to accept a method or solution that was not developed or created in America?

Are we clinging to the past - to what was? Our past is filled with innovations, the spirit of adventure, doing the impossible, being a beacon to the world.
Any good salesperson realizes that his/her past accomplishments hold little value to the present. Their value is based on what they are doing today.

Living in the present with eyes wide open is needed. Being willing to acknowledge mistakes and then work to avoid similar mistakes in the future will make a difference. Learning from the past is good and important. Living in the past is not.

We try to understand what the conditions were that created our prosperity. At the same time, we try to understand what caused this prosperity to end, and what must be avoided. Concentrating on the positive and not the negative is needed as the law of attraction draws us in the direction of our concentration.

With every adversity there is a benefit. Our current financial crisis has given us insight to the cause of our problems. We are working to make positive changes. Firing those who are on our payroll and are not working for the best interests of their employer (us). Hiring the right people is a tough job and regardless of how careful an employer is, mistakes are still made. Covering up the mistake is not acceptable.

At the upcoming elections we are in a position to hire new people and fire those who have shown their incompetence on the job. In the meanwhile, our company (our country) is in jeopardy. Tough decisions must be made by a responsible management to insure that payments are made. Without a good customer base, the company can’t survive.

Something needs to be done before we can't vote them out! Bit by bit, voting regulations are being tightened for purported "frauds" that don't exist. By tightening up the voting requirements, the number of people who vote is reduced. Additionally, the more difficult it is to vote, the more the vote can be controlled.

Early voting (avoiding long lines) was a great help to me. I could pick where I voted also. Early voting is one of the things Republicans are eliminating. Since we voted at the Superintendent of Elections office, I hardly see how that could have contributed to fraud. However, it made it possible for more people to vote based on their own work schedules and location.

My concern is about who to vote in. Even if the Republican candidate is not of radical and hateful persuasion, they sign a pledge to honor their party line not the will of their constituents. In a lot of voting places, a democratic candidate does not have a prayer of a chance, and the Republican candidate may be the best person. Sometimes, it's voting in the primary that picks the candidate.

On the contrary, a democratic candidate or an independent candidate who is not connected has no chance of even being heard as a new freshman representative. Only the mouthpieces with financial clout are heard. The rest speak to an empty chamber to get their voice on the record.

I wanted to work with the democratic party, but when you work with a party, they are for their candidate simply because the candidate is a democrat. It's not possible to get an objective perspective.

The League of Women Voters were the best for a non-political evaluation of candidates. They used to help with voter registration. Now, the new "reduce voters" laws have made their assistance with voter registration so difficult that their pretty non-partial role is being reduced.

This is a difficult time in this country. Just the fact that the Republicans held the President hostage on the debt ceiling and the income of millions of people in this country - the difference between eating and not eating - having electricity or no electricity - is even potentially at risk is a travesty of unheralded proportions.

It is evidence that those in power have no concept of how desperate this nation is, how close to the edge. That they could spend all this time with people worried about their next meal after August 3 is horrid when all they have to do is sign a three sentence bill to do what every Congress has done. Once that's signed, then they can negotiate the fiscally responsible positions without basic services to desperate people in jeopardy in the present.

The only way they can maintain this control is through the legislation they are passing to reduce the number of people voting, reduce the power of unions, and keep up a steady hate litany to distract desperate people into a blaming and hating mindset.

And it's not the peoples' representatives in control, it's the corporate sponsors of the republicans elected. I heard someone say, "who will control the republicans if Murdock falls (FOX empire)?" The answer was "KOCH" brothers. I know nothing of KOCH brothers but for that statement and something I had read bout their control over the newly elected governors with a campaign to eliminate all corporate regulations.

Already, government regulation of clean water has been "returned" to state control. That's where it was when our national waterways turned to burning sewers. States are broke. Do you think they are going to pay to regulate businesses who pour their sludge into the water? Nope.

My friends who care about this nation, I'm starting to feel overpowered also. I'm going to try to do something - probably through my local democratic party. But I'm not a single minded democrat. I just want to take care of my country and its citizens, all of them, and not have hate and greed rule.

Quote :

Do you think that part of the problem may be related to how Americans view America?
Many
hear and repeat slogans such as, “We’re the greatest”. We want to
believe that whatever our country does is right. We reject criticism
even when we know that what we’re doing is wrong. Is it arrogance that
won’t allow us to accept a method or solution that was not developed or
created in America?

That seems to be the European perspective, still, but I don't think it is valid anymore. Oh, yes, I read The Ugly American when it was first released, and I traveled to Asia in '69 with a group of Texans who embodied that concept, but I haven't seen evidence of it for some years now. Maybe I just connect with different people. Lynn and Chris lived in Germany for several years at the century turn, and Chris has close relatives in France, so they go back to Europe every year or so. I don't hear anything from them that indictes they might have seen it on their travels. I don't hear it, even from my more conservative friends.

It seems to me that we are more objective than we were say, 25 years ago, generally speaking. Fact is, we know better, and we have for a while, now.

At least in the environments where I have lived and visited over the past 30 years.

Ann

7/16/2011


"SLASH" their salaries, take away their perks , pay them
half of what they get ! Cut their staff by 75%, you'll
see how much money we save, Oh yes no more pork
barrel, make it illegal !


Cheers..Joe

Good luck! They won't go for it--they have to vote it through and it ain't gonna happen.
They want to cut other people's wages, not their own.

Their money is sacred--they create jobs with it. Forget about taxing it too. Forget about gov't too, I wonder who they are trying to kid?

Why on earth would anyone vote for an anti-gov't politiician?

It is ludicrous!
What other corporation would hire a person who was opposed to it?
Who would go to Boeing and say "I hate Boeing and don't believe in airplanes, but I want a job here."

We are crazy to put people opposed to gov't in office. Thy will only see to it that it doesn't work.

7/16/2011

Alice..

Have all 50 states put it on a ballot for 2012 !
I'm sure more than 85% of the American people
would vote for it, then it would have to be law, We
The People, For The people, By The people...I think
they think we're stupid, they forget we put them their
and we pay their salaries !


Cheers.......Joe

Good idea Joe. How to get it on the ballot is the problem.

What Abe said.

You'd need a few billion dollars to counter their accusations that anyone backing such a measure was a confirmed Satanist.

They claim to be led by God. It is amazing how they have managed to twist everything and get so many people to believe their heresy.